Church Incident

At approximately 2:40pm on January 29, 2018 a welding spark caught on the wood window sill of one of the Sanctuary’s stained glass windows. Work crews responded immediately as well as alerted 911/Frederick Fire Department. Although limited fire damage resulted around the frame of the window, there was significant smoke in the church sanctuary.

Immediate actions have been taken to mitigate the smoke, ensure no risk remains from hot spots in the window trim and to secure the stained glass window.

January 30:

Many well wishes and offers of assistance have been received as we deal with the soot and smoke damage affecting the sanctuary and church yesterday. Although the area of damage affects a small area, the impact on the stained glass window, window frame, cleaning and deodorizing the church will be somewhat time consuming

For the remainder of this week we are relocating all activities that were to be held in the Church and Sanctuary. Specific groups will receive information regarding relocation of meetings and events. We are sensitive to those with compromised respiratory issues and do not want to expose anyone to the smoke odor or the residue/dust that they are clearing.

PLEASE NOTE: This Sunday, February 4th, our congregation will worship at 10:30 am in the great hall of All Saints Episcopal Church (just down the street). Assistance will be provided to direct people down the street and to the proper location. We will re-assess how many weeks we will worship there based upon the cleanup efforts.

We will do our best to keep you notified about what is going on during this process and inform you of any developments that occur.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact the church office

We will continue to provide updates as information becomes available.

Regards,

Betsy Fisher, President
ERUCC Consistory

RaeAnn Butler
Construction Committee

January 31:

To look at the sanctuary today, one would hardly think that the area was completely filled with smoke from the fire on Monday. Paul Davis Restoration is managing the various aspects of the work that needs to be completed before we return to the sanctuary. All surfaces (walls, pews, books, ceiling, etc ) are being wiped down. The equipment is being evaluated to be sure that soot did not enter the electronics, the piano and the organ.

We will be meeting with the insurance adjuster on Friday. We may need to have all of the flat paint surfaces repainted since they do not wipe off well and could hold odor. If that is the case, the completion of the work could take about 4 weeks.

Remember this Sunday 10:30am worship will be held at All Saints in the Great Hall.